Resources

November 2010

November 29, 2010

A couple of months ago I visited Berlin for the Bar Convent. On that visit I hit up Lebensstern, the bar that won World's Best Drink Selection at Tales of the Cocktail in 2010. My quick write-up on the bar is here. I asked permission to print the cocktail menu and they kindly agreed. Note that this is merely the cocktails - the spirit selection, scattered in display cases throughout the house, is also quite extraordinary. Lebensstern Cocktail Menu English Version (via Google Translate) Snowflake 13.50 Lebensstern Gin St. Germain Elderflower Fri Lemon Champagne Pierre Gimonnet Seelbach 15.00 Noah's Mill... Read more →

November 28, 2010

In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Harvey's. (At the vineyard.) (The white, chalky soil of Jerez not only seals in water to get the vines through the dry season, it reflects sunlight up to the bottom of the vines as well.) (At the bodega, the famous Harvey's Bristol Cream.) (Barrels of sherry at the Harvey's bodega.) (Sherry, read for drinking!) (The grounds at Harvey's are filled with animals like albino peacocks and...) (a pair of alligators.) 75% of their grapes are machine harvested PX and Palomino grapes look similar... Read more →

November 27, 2010

Not the sort of thing I usually post, but why not? There's a new Ripley's Believe It or Not book out called Enter If You Dare! , and it has some goofy boozy trivia. Beer Lake - pg. 188: A beer lake was formed in the German city of Kassel in December 2008 after a truck carrying 12 tons of freshly brewed beer lost its load while taking a sharp turn. Some 1,600 bottles smashed as they hit the road but their contents quickly froze in temperatures of around 25°F. Tequila Diamonds - pg. 225: Mexican scientists have turned the... Read more →

November 26, 2010

In November 2010 I visited seven tequila distilleries in Jalisco, Mexico. We were hosted by the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS), as well as by the CNIT, the Camara Nacional de la Industria Tequila. Both are industry-sponsored groups with many different brands as members. Judith Meza, who works for CNIT, outlayed what she thinks are the Top Five Misconceptions About Tequila Tequila comes from a cactus. Truth: tequila comes from the agave plant, a relative of the lily. Tequila contains a worm in the bottle. Truth: Tequila never comes with a worm in the bottle. Some mezcals do.... Read more →

In my post this week on Fine Cooking's website, I got hold of Daniel Hyatt (from The Alembic)'s recipe for the Dragonwell Punch. I tried the drink at a Don Julio tequila event in San Francisco a couple weeks back and flipped for it. It's just light and lovely, and plays well with blanco. The drink is made with green tea and jalapeno-infused apple cider. It's just that plus tequila and a mint leaf garnish, and I could probably drink it all night. For the recipe, go to the Fine Cooking website. Read more →

November 24, 2010

So you know how I've been working for months on a way to make clear ice, and figured out that the best way (so far) to do it is with an Igloo cooler? It turns out that someone else thought of that at least a couple of years ago. The Polar Ice Tray is basically a high-design cooler that separates the cloudy part of the ice from the clear part. They accomplish this with an interior perforated bucket of sorts. The last part to freeze, the bottom, will have all the cloudy parts in it, and that is below the... Read more →

November 23, 2010

Just kidding, it's not a review. So there is a new bison grass vodka called ZU on the market from the people who make Zubrowka bison grass vodka. It has a similar name and similar bottle so I asked what is the difference? They responded: ZU is produced for the US market specifically by the only authorized creator of Poland’s internationally renowned Żubrówka: Polmos Bialystock. Żubrówka in Europe is made with bison grass, which contains high levels of coumarin – a natural substance that is banned by the FDA (though it is actually found in many foods like celery, vanilla,... Read more →

November 22, 2010

In my latest post on FineCooking.com, I tell the tale of a recent Thanksgiving tradition: drinking Wild Turkey. I also link to my experiments with Wild Tofurkey and share a new-fangled Old Fashioned recipe from the brand. Check it out here. Read more →

Camper English is a cocktails and spirits writer for publications including Saveur (Contributing Drinks Editor), Details.com (Cocktail Columnist), Whisky Advocate, PopSci.com, Drinks International, and many more. Learn about Camper and Alcademics, or read clips of his published work.